Palance in Charge

 

 

WARRIORS 5-1962-An American paratrooper (Jack Palance) teams up with 5 Italian soldiers (including Venantino Venantini) and a hooker (Giovanna Ralli) to blow up a bridge to slow down the German army's advance right after Italy has surrendered during WW2. 

This slow-moving Italian production, directed Leopoldo Savona, was presented by AIP in the US. Co-star Venantini years later was in several infamous Italian zombie movies. Star Palance was in BARABBAS the year before and would star in Jean Luc Godard's CONTEMPT the next and have his own short lived TV series “The Greatest Show On Earth”.

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Loose Lips Sink Ships

 (imdb)

RESISTING ENEMY INTERROGATION-1944-US Army training film instructing Prisoners Of War how not to give away vital information. The Nazi high command led by Carl Esmond (CATMAN OF PARIS (1946)) also includes Kent Smith (in CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE the same year), Peter Van Eyck, Peter Coe (in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN the same year) and George Dolenz (Mickey's dad). They use a lot of tricks to get the captives to spill the beans. The US solders include James Seay, Don Porter, Richard Martin and Arthur Kennedy. They try to keep quiet but these Nazis are really deceitful. 

Music emphasizes every time a soldier gives away some vital info. Steven Geray is a doctor. Lloyd Nolan (who also narrates), Craig Stevens and David Wayne are non-POW pilots. The cast is all unbilled. Directed by Bernard Vorhaus (THE AMAZING MR. X (1948), SO YOUNG SO BAD (1950)). 

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Doom is Right!

 

 (imdb)

SS DOOMTROOPER-2006-During WW2, a Nazi mad scientist (Ben Cross) creates a huge monster soldier from a man using radiation. England hires Col. Malloy (Corbin Nemec) to go behind enemy lines to destroy the compound. He assembles a bunch of Dirty Dozen wannabes to help him. 

The sfx, acting and dialogue suck. All thrown together by director David Flores (SAND OF OBIVION the same year).

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Nazis in America

 

 (imdb)

NO ESCAPE-1943-Nazis in America break a forger Torgut Lane (Dean Jagger) out of jail. A guy named Gerard (Ian Keith) makes a deal with him and has his death faked. He's taken to a secret hideout inside a carnival run by Martin (John Carradine; in REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES the same year) and Bergen (Sidney Blackmer). When he finds out they are Nazis he doesn't want to do their dirty work. He tries to escape but is whipped and his mother's life is threatened. He tries to convince his young “watchdog” Gordon (Bill Henry) to help him. He uses a woman named Helen (Mary Brian) to soften Gordon up. 

Small Monogram production with good cast directed by Harold Young (THE FROZEN GHOST, THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE (both 1945)). Spanky McFarland has a small role. Carradine also played a mean Nazi in HITLER'S MADMEN the same year. Aka I ESCAPED THE GESTAPO.

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Not A Horror Movie!

 

 

 (imdb)

INVISIBLE MENACE-1938-A dumb GI named Eddie (Eddie Craven) sneaks his new bride Sally (Marie Wilson) into his army base for their honeymoon. When a scientist is viciously murdered everyone is a suspect. Especially Dr. Jevries (Boris Karloff). Col. Hackett (Henry Kolker), Lt. Matthews (Regis Toomey) and Dr. Brooks (Charles Trowbridge) investigate. Later Col. Rogers (Cy Kendall) is called in. They seem to want to railroad Jevries for the murder. 

Routine murder mystery only remembered for Karloff and the title. Director John Farrow (father of Mia) had directed Karloff a year earlier in WEST OF SHANGHAI.

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Hey Moe!

 

 (imdb)

BATTLE OF BLOOD ISLAND-1960-During WW2, Moe (Richard Devon) and Ken (Ron Gans) are the only survivors of the army's assault on Blood Island. Ken is badly wounded and moans a lot. They try and survive while avoiding the Japanese camp nearby. They gradually grow on each others nerves. Basically this is a 2 person drama which is a little talky for me but succeeds despite it's low budget constraints. 

Executive producer Roger Corman appears as a soldier at the end. It's based on story by Phillip Roth called “Expect The Vandals”. Director Paul Rapp made only one of other movie HIGH SCHOOL BIG SHOT in 1959. Star Richard Devon, a Corman veteran was a busy TV actor at the time. Co-Star Ron Gans became a voice actor.

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Thankful I'm Still Here!

 

 (wikipedia)

HELL SQUAD-1958-Very low budget WW2 drama about a squad of soldiers in Tunisia (actually filmed in California) who encounter death, minefields and German soldiers in disguise. It was the debut for writer/producer/director Bert Topper. Wally Campos who was in Monte Hellman's THE BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE the next year is the star.

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WW2

 

PRISONER OF JAPAN-1942-During WW 2 David Bowman (Alan Baxter), alcoholic conscientious objector and astronomer living on a South Sea island eventually rises up to rebel against the (phony) Japanese agent (Ernest Dorian) who's keeping him a prisoner. He gets help from Toni Chase (Gertrude Michael) who's on the same island for some reason. It has a sad ending. 

Patriotic war time low budget take from PRC directed by Arthur Ripley from a story by Edgar Ulmer (some sources say he directed parts of it too). This was Ripley's first full length feature after making many short films.

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Whatever....

NINJA NIGHTMARE-1980-During WW2 some American soldiers kill a Japanese general and rape and kill his wife. They also kill the one American officer who protests. All the while their young son Kimon watches the horrible scene in hiding. Over 30 years later the troop (Cameron Mitchell, Stack Piece, Hal Bokar and Phillip Baker Hall) gets together for a reunion and the young son now an adult ninja (Leo Fung) seeks revenge. Fong was one of the producers. It's very disjointed and badly made. 

This is the only feature made by director Jay Wertz. 

It's walso known as THE LAST REUNION.

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More Invisibility

INVISIBLE AGENT-1942-Nazis want the indivisibility formula created by Frank Griffin, the original “Invisible Man” in this kind of sequel to THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS. Two enemy agents (Sir Cedric Hardwick and Peter Lorre) visit Griffin's grandson Frank (Jon Hall) whose working as a printer under an assumed name. They try to get the formula from him but he escapes and goes to the US for help. The government wants the formula too but he refuses until he learns of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He agrees to help but only if he is allowed to become the “invisible agent”. While parachuting into Berlin he becomes invisible and contacts German double agent Maria (Ilona Massey) who dines with the head of the secret police (J. Edward Bromberg) and there's lots of invisible comedy. For a while Frank puts on cold cream, sunglasses and a robe to become almost visible. Later he's kidnapped by Lorre (who's suppose to be Japanese; his outings as Mr. Moto got him in the mood). Once again Frank escapes their clutches and Lorre kills Hardwicke then commits hari-kari. Fortunately Maria can fly a plane and she and Frank stop bombers headed to destroy NYC! Keye Luke appears as a doctor in one scene. 

Released right after Pearl Harbor bombings this is one of the many propaganda like science fiction films released at the time. The SFX are good (they were nominated for an Academy Award) and director Edwin L. Marin doesn't go overboard with the comedy bits. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak (who also penned THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS) had fled Germany (first to England) in 1937. His depiction of the Nazis are evil but incompetent. 

Director Marin had previously made A CHRISTMAS CAROL and A STUDY IN SCARLET (both with Reginald Owen) and later many westerns. Lead actor Jon Hall returned to invisibility two years later in THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE, though playing a different character.

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Funny Axis?

NAZTY NUISANCE-1943-Bobby Watson returns as Hitler in this WW2 comedy sequel to THE DEVIL WITH HITLER. The Fuhrer visits a mythical middle eastern nation to sign a peace agreement. Joe Devlin is Mussolini and Johnny Arthur is Sukiyuki, the Japanese counterpart. Frank Faylen is a shipwrecked seaman who poses as a local island tribe's magician. There's a lot of politically incorrect and outright racist humor and slapstick gags involving magic and an orangutan. Jean Porter plays a native girl who helps Faylen out. Henry Victor (WHITE ZOMBIE) is one of Hitler's emissaries. The stupid trio wind up on a German sub (which Americans hijacked) trapped at the bottom of the ocean. The axis partners get shot out head first into a sand dune at the end. Ian Keith and Emory Parnell are also in it.

Though it was directed by Glenn Tryon who also did THE DEVIL WITH HITLER this isn't nearly as good. Star Watson played Hitler in at least 10 features!

Life In The Atomic Age

ATOMIC AGE CLASSICS-Vol. 3-A-Bombs, Fallout & Nuclear War-

Someone gave me this DVD years ago. All these shorts are now available to see on places like You Tube but since I wasted time watching it (when I could have been  watching..say..a movie by TV Mikels...) I decided to review them here anyway...

Living With The Atom (1957)-Produced by The Moody Institute of Science and hosted by it's founder Irwin Moon who explains what an atom is and how it relates to atomic energy. He talks about cyclotrons and the first A-bomb test on Bikini Island. It seems Moon was an evangelist who gave “Sermons of Science” and in demonstrations he would let one million electrical volts surge through his body! This color short was one in a series he made over a period of years. It's fairly straightforward but his point seems to be although Einstein developed E=MC2, God created the whole thing and it's part of “his” plan.

Radioactive Fallout and Shelter (1965)-Produced by the U.S. Office of Civil Defense this short advises you how to deal with “pesky fallout” should you or your food be exposed. The on screen narrator demonstrates how to handle bread and potatoes after these items have been exposed. He says things like “place them on an uncontaminated area”, yet if you were eating exposed food I don't think there'd be much of that around. He also talks about how to shield yourself from fallout. If you cover yourself with earth or concrete and wait 2 weeks you have a good chance of surviving. Sometimes it just seems like they are trying get people to spend money on home made bomb shelters and Geiger counters. No idea who the narrator is.

The Atom Strikes (1945)-The Army Signal Corp.-This short was released soon after the US dropped the bombs on Japan and attempts to explain why the A-bomb was used and what devastation it's use wrought. It starts with footage of the testing in Los Alamos, N.M. Then to the Enola Gay and the actual mission. There's extensive footage of the devastating results in Hiroshima. At certain points army officers are shown pointing out certain aspects but it's not made clear when all this was shot. Footage is horrific of course but the matter of fact narration is more concerned with structural damage than any lives that were lost. One person interviewed is a German born Jesuit priest who survived the bombing who (while reading a prepared script) seems to say that Japan and Germany condoned the bombings. Near the end, the bombing of Nagasaki is mentioned and it was targeted because of it's many munitions plants. (but again no mention of human life)

Fallout: When and How To Protect Yourself (1959)-This is a cute cartoon animation from the US Office of Civil Defense. A narrator (who keeps empathizing the the word “fallout”) once again describes the effects and prevention of fallout. It's darker than the one made in '65 and probably scared most audiences despite the animated man who tries to protect his family by building his own bomb shelter and stocking it with can goods and such.

The Atom Goes To Sea (1954)-This is the earliest and shortest entry. It was written and directed by True Boardman for General Electric. It shows how atomic energy powers nuclear reactors to power atomic submarines. It's very detailed but uses mostly animated diagrams. Director Boardman wrote several classic Abbott & Costello films in the '40's and later scripted episodes of THE FAMOUS ADVENTURES OF MR. MAGOO!

I think the real reason I posted this is just so I could throw out that line about True Boardman....

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Looking For Danger

LOOKING FOR DANGER-1957-In this weird Bowery Boys outing Duke (Stanley Clements) recalls in a flashback how he and Sach (Huntz Hall) fought against the Nazis in WW2! They also get involved with a Middle Eastern sultan and his harem. It's easy to see the series was on it's last legs as the gags are really bad and Sach is goofier than ever. 


Dick Elliot is now featured as Mike Clancy (after Percy Helton), the owner of the cafe where the boys (along with David Gorcey, Jimmie Murpshy and Eddie LeRoy who are also seen briefly in flashback) hang out. Lili Kardell and John Harmon are also featured. 


Screenplay by old BB stalwarts Ed Bernds and Ellwood Ullman. Director Austin Jewell also made HOLD THAT HYPNOTIST. It's the only other feature he directed!


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Slaptick Dictator

THE DEVIL WITH HITLER-1942-This 44 minute slaptick comedy from Hal Roach studios has Gesatan, the devil (Alan Mowbray) trying to save his job as boss of Hell because the other devils want to replace him with Adolf Hitler! He goes to Earth to try and make Hitler (Bobby Watson) do a good deed. Joe Devlin is Mussolini and George E. Stone is Suki Yaki. There's a lot of slapstick, one liners and jokes about executions. The freaky part is when Hitler talks about how horrible concentration camps are!

It's very much in the vein of the 3 Stooges shorts YOU NAZTY SPY! and I'LL NEVER HEIL AGAIN (both made first). Douglas Fowley plays an insurance salesman and Herman Bing is a Nazi astrologer who's executed. Philip Van Zandt, John Miljan and Rudolph Anders have un-credited roles. In the end Hitler is chased by devils with pitchforks and Gesatan promises: "This is only the beginning, folks!".

Director Gordon Douglas had made SAPS AT SEA with Laurel & Hardy the year before and later made THEM!. Watson portrayed Hitler at least 9 times during the 1940's.

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The Legend

RIKIDOZAN: A HERO EXTRAORDINARY-2004-If you don't know anything about Japanese professional wrestling you might still enjoy this Korean made biographical drama about The Rising Son's greatest grappler.

Kyung-gu Sol stars as Kim who comes from Korea to study Sumo wrestling in Japan soon after the end of WW2. Although he becomes Sumo he's not allowed to participate because he's Korean. After beating up a bouncer he meets actor Harold Sakata (played by real pro wrestler Kenji "The Great Muta" Muto) who beats him up and then introduces him into the world of pro wrestling. He changes his name and goes to America to make a name for himself. He makes pro wrestling a national past time in Japan after making a speech about standing up to "the big and bad white man". Later he helps Japan "regain it's lost pride" and get revenge on America by trouncing a foreign tag team but he dies from a stab wound he receives in a fight. (Some say he was killed by The Yakusa but this film seems to say he was just paranoid)

His main promoter Mr. Kanno is played by Tatsuya Fugi (from IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES). The story leaves out a lot of details especially regarding his wrestling career. It is true that he gave the post-Japanese population a much needed moral "shot in the arm" but pro-wrestling was (and still is) a choreographed sport so even though Rikidozan was standing up to "the American bullies", it was these very same bullies who had agreed to playing arrogant, cheating Westerners. Still his impact on pro-wrestling jn Japan can't be denied.

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When Capt. America Throws His Mighty Shield...

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER-2011-Marvel' s famous WW 2 hero is finally given the big budget Hollywood treatment.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans from THE LOSERS) is a patriotic wimpy guy who tries several times to join the army but always comes up 4-F. His best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) makes it easily and goes off to war. Eventually a German doctor (Stanley Tucci) picks Rogers to be the US army's test subject in their "Super Soldier" experiment. Hugh Weaving is fine as Johan Schmidt aka The Red Skull who with his Nazi based group Hydra plans to destroy the world. He's assisted by Dr. Armin Zola (Toby Jones from HARRY POTTER AND THE DEADLY GALLOWS) looking a lot like Truman Capote.

Tommy Lee Jones is the skeptical Colonel Phillips and Hayley Atwill (the recent THE PRISONER remake) is the out of place English female officer Peggy Carter. Dominic Cooper is Howard Stark. Cap also gets help from the un-named Howlin' Commandos (Timothy McDonough as Dum Dum, Derek Luke as Gabe Jones, Kenneth Choi, JJ Feild and Bruno Ricci).

Of course it's a great action film and Evans is good in the lead role especially in his handling of the pre-super soldier Rogers. The weird twist ending features Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury. Co-executive producer Stan Lee has a cameo. Great closing credits!

Strange that this well done adaptation was made by director Joe Johnson (HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, JUMANJI) after the overly gory THE WOLFMAN. Whoa! I can't wait for THE AVENGERS!

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Early Jack

BACK DOOR TO HELL-1964-Three army intelligence operatives land in Manila just before McArthur to try and destroy a Japanese communications outfit. It was filmed in The Philippines by Monte Hellman so the few Japanese soldiers are played by Filipinos. The leader of the trio is played by singer Jimmie Rodgers. John Hackett (who co-wrote the screenplay) and still unknown Jack Nicolson (who speaks Japanese…?) are the other two. They get help from a local guerilla outfit and torture a Japanese general. The dialogue is rather stilted and there’s not much action. Nicolson was also in RIDE THE WILD WIND and FLIGHT TO FURY for Hellman. Hackett was later a stand-in for Nicolson.

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War! What Is It Good For?

SUICIDE BATTALION-AIP-1958 -B-movie genius Edward L. Cahn stikes again with this strange comedy drama set in the Pacific during WW2.

Hardnose Mike Conners leads the title squad which includes John Ashley and Russ Bender. Much of the film concerns the exploits of the troop while partying at a local watering hole (including Ashley courting a native girl). War is fun!!

Stock footage (of both US and Japanese armies, some of it quite graphic) abounds. When the mission finally gets underway the squad has a woman reporter (Jewell Lain) with them too! A lot of the usual soul searching ensues before they must destroy a captured base and retrieve some secret files. Connors (who starred in his first TV show TIGHTROPE the next year) even has time to fight a rival Lieutenant (Bing “Father Of Kurt” Russell) for the reporter’s affections. It’s fairly violent for the time and of course nearly everyone (except the leads) dies.

A narrator tells of a “cunning and savage enemy” and “the power crazed Japanese”, so obviously by ’58, the wounds of WW 2 still hadn’t closed.

SB was written by AIP vet Lou Rusoff (see CAT GIRL entry) and produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff. Music by Ronald Stein. Also starring Scott Peters, Walter Maslow, John McNamara and Sammee Tong.
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The Wrath of Cahn!

JET ATTACK-AIP-1958 -So in my continuing effort to drum up support for the under appreciated director Edward L. Cahn I present this obscure Korean War melodrama. It was his second war drama for the year (see SUICIDE BATTALION).

John Agar stars as Capt. Tom Arnett. He and his partner (Gregory Walcott who starred in PLAN 9 around this time ) and comic relief guy (James Dobson) drop behind enemy lines to rescue an army scientist who may still be alive. They are helped by local guerrillas led by Victor Sen Yung (also in SHE DEMONS the same year and soon to be cook Hop Sing on TV’s Bonanza). Audrey Totter plays a Russian doctor who helps the Communist hating Americans. She also provides Agar with a love interest.

As in SUICIDE BATTALION (and ROCKETSHIP X-M) everybody but Agar and the guy he came to rescue die. Leonard Strong leads the North Korean force of bad guys....

JA isn’t anything special.. In fact it’s a pretty standard “Communism must be crushed” war drama but director Cahn also made IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE and CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN (both written by sci-fi author Jerome Bixby) the very same year!

Screenwriter Orville Hampton penned tons of movies including RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP (1967) and FRIDAY FOSTER (1975) and worked with Cahn again. Most notably on the next year’s incredible THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE. His last work was for The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour in 1976. He died in 1997.

The story credit goes to Mark Hanna who wrote ATTACK OF THE 5O FT. WOMAN the same year.

Star John Agar was never the world’s worst actor as he was often portrayed and gave some of his best performances in low budget craziness (see THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS!). Here he is the likable but tough All American soldier fighting to keep the world free. His other horror movie in 1958 was Bert I. Gordon’s ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE.

Writing some of the best low budget scores Ronald Stein’s soundtrack here is quite loud and governmental. It almost gives the movie a kind of documentary feel. When not helping out his friend Ed Wood on various productions producer Alex Gordon managed to produce some great stuff for AIP (including THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED). He produced THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE the next year. Co-AIP head James H. Nicholson was the executive producer.

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROCK-AIP-1956-Dig this early peon to rock and roll, cats. It’s like crazy. The great low budget master of the ‘50’s Edward L. Cahn shows he’s no square and not only is rock and roll here to stay but it can reform kids and make them productive!

Mike “Touch” Connors stars as a local deejay who believes this new, primitive music is not only an art form but it can set teens on the path to the straight and narrow. He’s assisted by jive taking Axe (Sterling Holloway in a real gone performance, dad). They get Fats Domino and Joe Turner to perform at a party so the reforming wayward youths can raise $12,000 to start their own “Teen Town”. Unfortunately they run into opposition by group of local oldsters led by Douglas Dumbrille and Margaret Dumont who’s niece (Lisa Gaye) Touch is in love with. Another old timer Raymond Hatton appears as Dumont’s husband. Hatton (who really hams it up) played the doomed prospector in Corman’s DAY THE WORLD ENDED in which Connors played the villain. Another DTWE vet Paul Dubov (the radiation victim who always wants to eat raw meat) plays a gangster who tries to break up the teen club. The always recognizable Percy Helton plays a comic undertaker/reformer. It ends in a televised court room where Connors and Dumbrille have their showdown and subtitles are used to translate Axe’s hip talk!

Domino and Turner do two songs a piece and some guy named Tommy Charles (“The one you’ve all been waiting for”) does a song that doesn’t fit in at all. This is a fun time capsule of “the way it wasn’t but it’s nice to think it might have been”. It was written by AIP vet Lou Rusoff (see CAT GIRL entry). James Nicolson and Alex Gordon were the producers. Original music by Alexander Courage!

"Sacred cows make the best hamburger"-Mark Twain

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